Compound archery bows include pulleys at the ends of the bow limbs. The pulleys carry cables along with a bowstring, which are rigged to allow the bowstring to be drawn to launch an arrow. Because the pulleys lie within the same approximate spatial plane as the bowstring, cables, and arrow, the arrow shaft will contact the cables during the arrow launching process, unless the cables are braced out of the path of the arrow. Deflection rods or cable guards have been used for years to brace the cables out of the arrow path. A typical cable guard extends from the bow riser and is laterally offset from the plane of the cables and bowstring.
Some cable guards simply utilize a rod (often with a bend) for deflecting the cables. A cable slide is often used in conjunction with these types of rod-type cable guards. However, the frictional contact of the cables with the rod or cable slide reduced the speed by which the bowstring launches the arrow, which reduces, in turn, the arrow speed.
Rollers have been used to further reduce such frictional forces. The rollers may be part of a guide or guard assembly that is mounted to the rod. The guide assembly includes a pair of rollers positioned within a guide or guard structure. The rollers have traditionally been arranged in a side-by-side manner, typically arranged coaxially. The side-by-side arrangement of the rollers may induce additional torque and frictional forces on the cable that may have adverse effects on performance of the archery bow.
These and other problems are avoided and numerous advantages are provided by the apparatuses and methods described herein.